Raising Hell
by A-very-supernatural-fan
Summary: Missing scenes from 11x10 – "The Devil in the Details". Dean takes care of his hurting little brother in the aftermath of the cage fight with Lucifer. Hurt!Sam, Protective!Dean.


**RAISING HELL**

 **Summary:** _Missing scenes from 11x10 – "The Devil in the Details". Dean takes care of his hurting little brother in the aftermath of the cage fight with Lucifer._ _**Hurt!Sam, Protective!Dean**_.

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Dean: " _Where's Sam?_ "

Crowley: " _Don't worry about Sam_."

Dean: " _Oh I'm sorry, have you met me?!_ "

\- Supernatural 11x10: " _The Devil in the Details_ ".

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As the blinding, bright light faded, and everything (except for the rasping sounds of Sam's breathing) went silent around them, Dean realized that Lucifer was gone. Cas was huddled in a far corner, looking just as beat-up as Dean felt like himself. He knew that Sam was looking even worse but, considering the fact that they'd just fought off the frigging devil, it was a miracle they were at least still alive.

Dean was still grasping Sam tightly, continued to protect his little brother even though the danger appeared to be over. He just wasn't ready to let go of his brother yet. From the moment Crowley had informed him that Sam was in hell with Lucifer, Dean's protective big brother side had been in overdrive. The devil had previously not only physically but also mentally tortured Sam to the point of insanity, had taken Sam's soul and shattered it to pieces – so badly that the mere memories of it had almost destroyed the youngest Winchester. That Sam had been back in a cage with Lucifer was one of the worst scenarios Dean could imagine, and he felt so grateful for the fact that he'd been able to reach his little brother before Lucifer had hurt him too badly.

Sam sagged against him – his breathing still rasped and a bit strained. Dean moved around a little so he could get a better look at his brother, wincing as he took in the sight of the blood and bruises coating Sam's face.

"Geez…" Dean mumbled, carefully cradling Sam's face in his hands as he took in the damage. "You okay?"

Sam's answer was half a shrug of his shoulders, and Dean gently moved some of Sam's hair away from his face before reaching into his back pocket for a bandana. As Dean started dabbing at the blood on Sam's face, he almost wished for a reappearance of Lucifer – just to be able to throw in a couple more punches to that smug face for hurting his little brother! Sam was uncharacteristically compliant during Dean's ministrations, and Dean wondered just how badly the devil had messed with him. The physical wounds, Dean could deal with - the emotional ones… well, they probably required more than simple first aid.

"Is he really gone?" Sam asked in a slightly hoarse voice.

"He's gone." Dean promised, keeping his eyes locked with Sam's for a few moments to make sure Sam saw the truth in them. "He can't hurt you anymore."

Sam swallowed hard and nodded - his expressive eyes huge and wet as he looked at his big brother. It was the same look Sam had always given him when he needed Dean to make everything better. Dean gave his brother's shoulder a comforting squeeze, then finished up wiping blood off Sam's face. That was all he could do for now – the rest would have to wait until later.

"Come on." Dean said, and grasped Sam's hand before pulling the younger hunter to his feet - the efforts of it making him groan. Dean's left side was aching, and he figured he probably had a few bruised ribs to deal with sometime later.

As Sam got vertical, he started swaying a little on his feet, but Dean quickly held on to him – having not really expected his brother to be steady on his feet anyway. Sam had taken _how_ many blows to the face by Lucifer? Dean wasn't sure of the amount, but Sam had been beaten around by Lucifer both before and after Dean had arrived, that much was certain.

When he was sure that Sam wasn't in any immediate risk of face planting, Dean looked over at Castiel. He was back on his feet and silently watching the brothers. The angel hadn't offered to heal any of their injuries, but Dean figured that Cas probably had enough to do dealing with his own injuries. Besides, Dean had an irrational urge to be the only one to fix up his brother this time. After Lucifer had had his dirty fingers on Sam, Dean wasn't ready to allow anyone to touch his brother – not even Cas.

"Can you get us out of here?" Dean asked the watching angel.

"Of course." Cas answered, before closing the distance between them. Next thing Dean knew, they were on the outside of the cage again.

"Dean, I can walk." Sam insisted as Dean started hoisting Sam's arm across his shoulders.

"You sure?" Dean asked, and Sam nodded.

"I'm sure." He said.

"Alright." Dean said, letting go of Sam but staying within an arm's reach in case his brother needed it.

Even though Sam was most likely running on sheer stubbornness and willpower only, the younger Winchester stayed true to his words as the three of them left the cage behind and walked towards an exit. Sam looked exhausted and still moved a bit unsteadily, but he remained on his feet nonetheless. Dean was grateful for it – the pain in his ribs were flaring up by every step he took, and it would have been much worse if he'd had to carry Sam's weight as well.

Crowley and Rowena were waiting for them, and the closer they got, the more Dean had to restrain his anger towards the witch that had lured Sam into that godforsaken cage with Lucifer. Rowena even had the nerve to be cheeky, and Dean barely had enough self-control to avoid ripping her frigging lungs out.

The team-up with the king of hell was over, which Crowley so non-politely announced, and Dean couldn't wait to get topside again – get himself and Sam seated in the Impala, and return to the safety of the bunker. Despite doing a fine job walking on his own, Sam had to admit defeat when they reached the stairs and let his big brother support him until they were out of the pit and hell's doors closed behind them.

Cas had decided to catch up with the brothers later, which was quite alright with Dean. He had Sam to focus on, and many musings ahead of him regarding the Darkness and what the hell they were supposed to do now. Once settled in the car, Dean wanted to know how Sam was doing, and wasn't completely satisfied with Sam's " _I don't know_ " as an answer. But what was his little brother supposed to say anyway? A ' _yes_ ' would have been a lie, and a ' _no_ ' would probably have required a conversation that neither one of them had the energy to start right now.

Dean could tell that Sam doubted whether or not he'd made the right decision by turning Lucifer down, but Dean reassured Sam that he'd chosen correctly. Never in a million years would Dean wish to see Lucifer wearing Sam to the prom again. He'd rather see the world end, than for his brother to be the devil's vessel ever again.

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There hadn't been a lot of conversation between the brothers on the way back to the bunker. Sam had nodded off within the first ten minutes, and even though Dean wanted to know exactly what had gone down inside the cage, he decided it could wait until Sam was ready to talk. Despite his exhaustion, Sam startled awake several times on their way home – bolting upright in his seat and looking wildly around until Dean reassured him that he was topside and safe again. Dean also had to pull over a couple of times for Sam to get out and puke on the side of the road. The younger brother was concussed and aching, but Dean had a feeling that some of Sam's nausea was also the result of whatever mental scarring Lucifer had inflicted on Sam this time around.

As soon as they were back inside the bunker, Dean couldn't help but pull Sam into a tight hug. He had been beyond scared of losing his little brother yet again, and Dean closed his eyes as he felt Sam hug him back just as tightly. Neither one of them said anything, but they'd always been able to convey into actions what had never been easy to put into words.

When Dean eventually pulled back from the hug, he fetched some painkillers and an icepack for Sam and then sent his brother straight to bed. Sam hadn't argued with that plan, and when Dean went to check up on him a little while later, Sam was fast asleep. Dean replaced the icepack, which had fallen off Sam's face, with a new one, and turned off the lights in Sam's room before calling it a day himself.

Dean had no idea how long he'd been out, when the sound of Sam calling his name tore him out of his sleep, and immediately had him out of bed and running to Sam's room with a gun in hand.

"Sam!" Dean shouted as he rushed into his brother's room.

The room was clear – aside from Sam who was writhing on his bed, still calling Dean's name in his sleep. Sam was panting and covered in sweat - lines of discomfort and pain visible on his bruised face.

"Sam." Dean said again, this time in a softer tone as he tucked the gun away in the back of his pants, and gently tried to shake his brother out of his nightmare.

Dean had barely put his hand on Sam's chest though, before the younger man opened his eyes with a loud gasp – gulping in air as if he'd been drowning.

"Easy, Sammy." Dean soothed and tried to ground his brother by putting a hand on the back of his neck and squeezing lightly to comfort him. "You're okay."

"Dean." Sam sighed when he looked at his big brother, and then visibly sagged in relief.

"Nightmare?" Dean asked, although he knew the answer.

"Yeah." Sam admitted with a nod of his head, before carding his hands through his sweaty locks. "Sorry. Did I wake you up?"

"Nah." Dean lied, then cleared his throat before carefully asking; "Was it Lucifer?"

Sam winced a little and looked away. Through the beam of light streaming into the room from the open doorway, Dean could clearly see the colored and swollen bruising on Sam's face – a strong reminder of the abuse Lucifer had caused. Sam looked young and vulnerable, and Dean's heart bleed for his little brother.

"You should get some sleep." Sam said, avoiding the question. "I'm okay."

"You sure?" Dean asked. "You need anything? Painkillers? A prostitute?"

Sam snorted and the tension in the room lifted a bit.

"No thanks." He answered, and settled back into his pillow. "I'm fine, Dean."

Dean hesitated for a few moments, but eventually decided to believe that Sam would be able to go back to sleep without Dean hovering.

"Alright. See you in the morning." Dean said, and fondly ruffled Sam's hair before leaving, grinning as Sam's swearwords followed him out of the room.

Dean had hoped that Sam would rest peacefully throughout the rest of the night, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. When Dean woke up some hours later, and decided to check up on his brother, Sam was not alright. Dean had left the door ajar when he'd left Sam's room earlier in the night, and even as he neared the younger Winchester's room, Dean could hear his brother's sobs clearly.

Dean's heart dropped, and he swallowed hard. His heart had never been able to cope with a crying Sam, and Dean once again wished that he could kick the devil's ass for causing Sam so much pain – both of the physical and emotional kind. Deciding to give Sam a chance to compose himself, Dean made sure his footsteps were noisy enough for his brother to hear him approach.

"Hey, Sam?" Dean called in a nonchalant way outside the door - then stuck his head inside Sam's room. "You asleep?"

"No." Came the hesitant reply, and Dean noticed that all traces of tears had been wiped away from Sam's cheeks.

Even if Dean hadn't heard Sam's sobs, the younger brother couldn't have fooled anyone though; his eyes were red and puffy, and Dean's chest ached from the sight of it. Sam looked like a scared little kid, and Dean hated Lucifer even more for making Sam look this way.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Dean asked, and continued when Sam shook his head. "Listen, I was thinking... Cas has talked so much about those damn Netflix shows. You know if they're any good?"

"Some… some of them should be pretty good, according to the reviews at least." Sam said with a confused expression on his face. "Why?"

"Since neither one of us are able to catch some Zs, I just wondered if you wanted to watch some TV." Dean said in a casual manner, shrugging his shoulders. "But if you'd rather try to sleep some more, it's cool. It can wait."

"No." Sam quickly said, before Dean could even think about turning away. "We can watch something, it's fine."

"Awesome." Dean smiled and walked over to his brother. "Now scoot over, Sasquatch. Make some room for the elderly."

Sam rolled his eyes but made room for Dean on his bed nonetheless. He flicked on the TV and started searching through a bunch of TV-shows, eventually choosing a random one. It was nice doing something normal for once, putting aside their worries about how to stop the Darkness from destroying the world, and just be brothers. Dean pretended not to notice when Sam moved a little closer, and Sam didn't say anything when Dean rested his arm on top of the pillow behind Sam's back.

As Dean had predicted, it didn't take long for Sam to be out like a light. The older brother gently pulled Sam closer and tucked the blanket tighter around him, making sure that his little brother was warm and comfortable. Dean knew that Sam wasn't going to be okay from one moment to another but, right now, he was safe and sound against Dean's side – protected from anyone and anything that dared to come near him. Not even the frigging devil would get to him without having to deal with Dean first. No matter how old Sam got, it had always been and always would be Dean's job to keep him safe. You could say a lot of things about Dean Winchester, but one thing was for sure; he took his duty as a big brother very seriously. And for the first time that night, both brothers were able to sleep until morning came.

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 **THE END.**


End file.
